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Elizabeth Dole Deftly Declines To Steal Show

In a North Carolina replay of Senator Bob Dole's visit to his hometown in Kansas two weeks ago, Elizabeth Hanford Dole returned to the place she grew up today for a Republican victory celebration -- a sunny and politically pointed homecoming that ended up being more about Mr. Dole than his wife.

Though the celebration in this wealthy, Revolutionary-era community was framed around Mrs. Dole -- after a high school rally, she visited her childhood home -- the center of attention was meant to be Mr. Dole, the presumptive Republican Presidential candidate. And his wife of 21 years made certain of that from the moment she stepped from behind a lectern at Catawba College and, wearing a body microphone, wandered out across a gym floor filled with relatives and old friends.

Let me turn to the subject at hand today, and that is the fact that this is a defining moment, I believe -- this next election -- in our nation's history," said Mrs. Dole, after dispensing with thanks to friends who organized the day. Reviewing President Clinton's first term in office, she stated crisply, "Ladies and gentlemen, you need to elect Bob Dole President to carry out Bill Clinton's broken promises."

Mrs. Dole's remarks today were in keeping with the way she has presented herself during nearly six months of campaigning in smaller and less-visible venues. They also continued a pattern that the Doles have followed since their marriage in 1975; Mrs. Dole has regularly deferred her political ambitions to those of her husband. She stepped down as Secretary of Transportation in 1987 during her husband's last run for President, and she took a leave this year from her job as president of the American Red Cross.

But her decision to turn the spotlight today so decidedly on her husband on a day that her own community was trying to shine it on her -- and in contrast with the way Mr. Dole emotionally embraced his reception in Russell, Kan. -- demonstrated Mrs. Dole's insistence on not overshadowing her husband. It also provided an early, if unstated, contrast that Mr. Dole's aides are eager to draw between Mrs. Dole and the more outspoken First Lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Mrs. Dole's speech hinted at the role she will play in the campaign. She spoke of what is emerging as a central theme in the Dole campaign: Mr. Clinton's character.

"This election, I believe, is about the character of our country as we move into the next century," Mrs. Dole said. "It is also about the character of the person who will lead us there. I commend to you a man of strong character: my husband, Bob Dole."

Mrs. Dole made no allusion to Mr. Clinton, though the two speakers who preceded her, North Carolina's Republican Senators, Jesse Helms and Lauch Faircloth, were more direct.

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"This will be a referendum on character," Mr. Helms said, "and Bob Dole will win that in a walk."

Senator Faircloth said: "If Bob Dole tells you something, you can take it to the bank. When Bill Clinton tells you something, you can get a subpoena."

The Doles were coming off an 11-day vacation in Florida and seemedrelaxed. Mr. Dole showed off a deep tan, though Mrs. Dole did not -- she does not enjoy the sun as much as her husband and did not join him for the many hours he spent poolside.

Mr. Dole presented his wife as Salisbury's "first Liddy," then sat in a chair on the stage. She gave an organized speech that contrasted with her husband's speaking style.

During his remarks, Mr. Dole stood stiffly at the lectern, but for her speech, Mrs. Dole affixed a body microphone to her daffodil-colored suit and walked calmly through the audience. She did not even lose her concentration when her microphone failed (she fiddled with a wire on her waist without skipping a word) or when an overheated balloon burst with a startling pop.

Mrs. Dole's speech was different from her husband's for another reason as well: it was long, and the often-restless Mr. Dole at one point caught his wife's eye and gestured to his watch.

"Almost through," Mrs. Dole said, smiling sweetly at her husband. She went on for another 10 minutes.